New Delhi: Bihar is seeing a rise in the number of mob attacks and lynchings, with 39 such cases being registered just in the last 2.5 months. In these attacks, 14 people have died and 45 have been injured, NDTV reported. A number of these cases were based on rumours of child-lifting.
According to the Indian Express, though the state does not have a specific law to tackle lynching, the Nitish Kumar-led state government has said those accused in lynching cases will no longer be eligible for government jobs. If they already hold a government job, they will be removed.
According to the police, video evidence is being used to try and identify people involved in the lynchings. While 345 people have reportedly been named in the case, 278 have been arrested so far.
“In mob lynching cases, we often book unidentified people. We are now focusing more on identifying faces in the crowd with help of video footage gathered through media and local people. The objective is to ensure that people do not take law in their hands,” the newspaper quote additional DGP, CID Vinay Kumar as saying.
“In recent cases, over 2,000 unknown people are booked. Despite several warnings, people continued to take law in their hands because of unfounded rumours,” he added. That is why the decision to make government jobs and contracts conditional was reached.
Also read: Why Do Mob Lynchings Still Continue Unabated?
This problem isn’t limited to Bihar, even though the state has seen a spike in the number of cases. The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority recently included lynching as a “man-made disaster” in its school safety programme, hoping that this will deter students and their parents from sharing unconfirmed rumours on WhatsApp.
Across the country, there have been numerous reports of how people have been attacked and beaten to death because they were not recognised by locals and assumed to be child-lifters or thieves.